Chapter 48
Ash
She gave me Rian’s red toy truck.
She kept it after all those years.
A part of me felt silly for pushing her away at first. What was I so afraid of? I liked what Karla did for me whenever she was around. I liked feeling alive with her. I liked feeling as if life had some kind of meaning again after years of emptiness.
I didn’t know things could feel so good with Karla.
So right. I knew the first time I met her all those years ago that Karla was going to be a big part of my life.
I just never knew we’d end up back together in the way it came about.
And ever since we took things to the next level, I’d been falling for her even more.
I made love to her multiple times that week, taking in all of her. Every piece of her was so stunning to me. Her smile, her lips, her collarbone, her hips.
Her legs. Her beautiful, strong legs that carried her through life. I loved trailing my kisses all across her thighs, tasting every piece of her, praising every inch of her being.
Beautiful legs, beautiful body.
Any down time I had meant I was with her, and any time I wasn’t with her, I was thinking about her.
About us.
About our future.
I’d never really dreamt about a future with another person after my father passed away. Yet somehow Karla made me dream again. She brought me back to life.
Once I reemerged from a few weeks of being attached at the hip to Karla, the boys were quick to give me a hard time about my missed basketball appointments.
“Someone falls in love and forgets how to hoop,” Shawn said, tossing the ball my way as I sat my duffel bag down.
“That’s how Shawn says he misses you,” Luke joked. “He just struggles with self-expression.”
“I don’t struggle with that. I miss you so much, buddy,” Chase said as he walked over and pulled me into a bear hug.
“We worked four days this week together,” I replied.
Chase pouted and picked up the ball that I never grabbed from Shawn’s toss. “Five days would’ve been better.”
I rolled my eyes. Bunch of drama queens.
“I for one am happy for you, buddy,” Adrian said, sipping on his water bottle. “It’s about time one of us got laid on a regular schedule.”
“Aren’t you in a committed relationship?” I asked, speaking of him and Hallie.
“Yeah, she’s committed to driving me up a wall, that’s what she’s committed to,” he groaned with a heavy sigh.
“But you’re in the honeymoon stage. Bask in that, brother.
Because women can rip that away from you in a heartbeat, and the next thing you know, you’re spending every week at her grandparents’ house reorganizing their garage while old man Reggie tells you about the good ole days. ”
“That sounds a little too specific,” Luke laughed as he snatched the ball from Chase and shot it.
Before I could reply, Karla’s name flashed on my screen.
A wave of relief hit me when I saw her name.
I’d been texting her all morning and I hadn’t heard from her, which wasn’t common.
Though, she was working at her shop, so I figured I’d swing by after our game to make sure all was good to go.
Seeing her name eased my worry a little bit.
Chase looked at the phone and cooed. “Oooh, we better get a game in quick before Mr. Love Machine ditches us for his lady.”
“Hang up the phone! Hang up the phone!” the guys started chanting. “Dicks before chicks! Dicks before chicks!”
I chuckled at their ridiculous teasing and still answered the phone and said, “Just so you know, the guys are up my ass about us and—”
“Ash? This is Lorelai, Karla’s sister. I saw she had a few missed calls from you this morning.”
I stood straighter as my eyes narrowed. “Uh, hi, Lorelai. Everything OK?”
“Not exactly. There was an accident with Karla at the bookshop and—”
My heart stopped beating the moment I heard those words leave Lorelai’s mouth. I couldn’t fully come to grasp what they meant. An accident? What happened? How bad? The panic that filled my heart from Lorelai’s words felt like the heaviest weight sitting against my chest.
“Ash? What is it?” Luke asked as he stopped bouncing the basketball and looked at me. He must’ve noticed the color draining from my face as I turned to face him.
I couldn’t form words. Lorelai kept talking, and I did my best to process what she was saying.
There was an accident.
Karla fell off a ladder in the bookshop.
She was knocked unconscious.
She was at the hospital.
“Karla was in an accident. She’s at the hospital,” I said as I began to gather my duffel bag.
“I’m sorry, guys, I gotta cut it short.” Before I could even get all the words out of my mouth, the guys were already gathering their stuff to come with me.
“You don’t gotta do that,” I said as I tried to think of the fastest way to get to the hospital.
“My car is around the corner. We’ll take you to the hospital.” I didn’t argue with them. I could hardly think straight.
Once we arrived, the five of us hurried into the hospital, where we were ushered to the waiting room. There, I found Greyson, Lorelai, Ellie, and a few others waiting.
I cleared my throat and walked over to Greyson.
“Hey, Greyson. I don’t know if you remember me, but I’m Ash Banks. Karla and I used to be friends when we were younger and—”
Before I could reply, Greyson stood and pulled me into a hug. He held on tight, and I hugged him back. “I heard rumors about you being back in Karla’s life,” he said. He gave me a small smile. “I just wish we were connecting on better terms.”
“You and me both.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “So what’s going on exactly?”
“She had a pretty bad fall from one of the high ladders at work. I don’t even know why she was up that high. I always tell her it’s not safe. Not with the back pain she’s been having lately.”
Why didn’t she ask for my help to put the books on the top shelves?
Why did I feel pissed off by the fact that she’d climb a ladder?
Wait, no. I wasn’t pissed off. I was scared.
I was really fucking scared.
“She’s going to be OK, though, right?” I asked, my voice cracking.
Greyson smiled my way and patted me on the arm.
“She’s a trooper. The doctor already told us she’s doing all right.
Just a big knot on her head, and she’s resting now.
We are just waiting to be allowed back to visit her.
Then we can focus on healing and yell at her for scaring the ever-loving shit out of us. ”
I nodded in understanding.
Greyson gestured behind him. “I don’t know if you remember my wife, Ellie, and my other daughter, Lorelai.”
“Hi, ladies. Lorelai, I appreciate you giving me a call.”
Lorelai smiled. “Karla would’ve wanted you here.”
“That’s a fact,” Ellie said. “She’s been going on and on about how amazing you are for weeks.”
That made my heart skip a little faster. Then my mind began to go to places that I’d wished it wouldn’t go.
What if Karla wasn’t OK?
What if she truly hurt herself?
What if something went terribly wrong?
She could’ve died.
Holy shit.
She could’ve died.